| Raḥamim רַחֲמִים | |
| Owners: | --> |
| Founder: | Rahamim Davidbayev |
| Editor: | Nisim Tadzhir, Rafael Galibov |
| Maneditors: | --> |
| Language: | Judeo-Tajik |
| Publishing City: | Skobelev (1910–1913), Kokand (1913–1916) |
| Publishing Country: | Russia |
Raḥamim ({{Script|Hebrew|רַחֲמִים, 'mercy'), also known as Rakhamim, was a Bukharian (Judeo-Tajik) language weekly newspaper published from Skobelev (present-day Fergana in Uzbekistan) between 1910 and 1913, and from Kokand (Turkestan Krai) between 1913 and 1916. It was the first newspaper published in Judeo-Tajik and it was printed in Rashi script.
The founder of the newspaper was Rahamim Davidbayev, a wealthy businessman in the Skobolev. He brought costly printing equipment from Lublin at his own expense in order to launch the newspaper.[1] The name of the newspaper alluded to the name of its founder. The first issue came out on .[2] Raḥamim was distributed among Bukharian Jewish communities in cities across Central Asia. It was the first newspaper published in Judeo-Tajik: a Judeo-Persian dialect.[1] [3] [4] It was printed in Rashi script: a 15th-century Sephardic semi-cursive handwriting. The weekly newspaper was published from Skobelev (present-day Fergana in Uzbekistan) between 1910 and 1913, and from Kokand (Turkestan Krai) between 1913 and 1916.[5] [6] [7]
Issues of the newspaper contained two or four pages. The newspaper consisted mainly of correspondent telegrams.[8] Local news stories as well as reporting on world events were translated from Russian language.[9] [10] Hitherto Judeo-Tajik had not been used much as a written language, and the newspaper frequently employed Russian loanwords to fill gaps in vocabulary.[10] Raḥamim also covered Jewish community affairs to some extent, including both private and official correspondence.[1] [10] There were translations from Hebrew of works from the Haskalah movement by Eastern Jewish publicists.[1] The publication sometimes carried religious and fictional stories.[1] The newspaper would carry adverts for local businesses, train schedules and a financial supplement with foreign currency exchange rates.[10]
Davidbayev recruited a number of gifted young men to work on the publication and the editorial office of Raḥamim soon became a hub for Bukharian Jewish intellectual life.[1] The staff included Nisim Tadzhir, Rafael Galibov (writer and translator), rabbi Shlomo ben Pinkhas Babadzhan and Mulla Azare Yusupov.[1] [11] [12] Tadzhir and Galibov served as the editors of the newspaper.[7] [13] Khie Batchaev (father of the poet Muhib) was the correspondent of Raḥamim in Mari.[11] [14]
The last issue published from Skobelev was dated .[5] The newspaper reappeared, published from Kokand on June 26, 1913.[5] Per secondary sources publication of Raḥamim continued from Kokand from 1914 to 1916, albeit sporadically.[5] [12] [15]